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"After a confrontation with the Sanitation Commissioner, Homer decides to run against him in the next election. Homer's campaign, based on outlandish promises and elaborate services that the garbage men will perform, wins him the election. But being in charge of Springfield's sanitation turns out to be a bit more challenging than Homer anticipates."

The executives of Costingtons department store invent a new holiday to improve summer sales known as "Love Day", a holiday combining the colorful heartful theme of Valentine's Day with the commercial gift buying of Christmas. After the Simpsons celebrate Love Day, the trash starts to pile up but the family refuse to take it out until the trash spills, which Homer makes it do. When Homer is forced to take out the trash, the garbage truck passes the house. Homer insults the garbage men and, because of his refusal to apologize, the Simpsons' trash service is cut off. Garbage begins to pile up in the Simpsons' front yard, until one day Homer wakes up to find all the garbage gone. Homer thinks that he won until he learns that Marge wrote an apology letter to the sanitation commissioner, forging Homer's name. Homer goes to see the sanitation commissioner, Ray Patterson (voiced by Steve Martin) to get his apology letter back. Ray politely gives the letter back but Homer won't stand for it and after a brief, pointless argument, Homer decides to run for sanitation commissioner himself to spite Patterson.

Homer's campaign never gets off the ground. Offering some advice, Moe suggests Homer offer the new slogan "Can't Someone Else Do It?" Homer convinces the town that by voting for him they would get services such as round-the-clock trash pickup and emergency cleanup service. Homer wins the election in a landslide and gets straight to work implementing his new ideas. After only a month in office, however, his department goes bankrupt due to the expenses of his "crazy promises". In order to pay his garbage men, Homer allows other cities across the country to dump their garbage under Springfield for a price. The trash quickly begins to pile up and unearth itself, flooding garbage all over Springfield. Homer is horsewhipped and removed from his position. The town tries to get Ray Patterson back but he instead, amused, leaves the town in its mess after essentially saying "I told you so." With no other option, Mayor Quimby has no choice but to move the town five miles down the road, truck-lifting all the houses and buildings.